As with any fighting style there are several ways to win over your opponent. You can be stronger than them, breaking apart your opponent's defensives in order to land a successful blow. You can be faster then them, swinging so many blows your opponent cannot block them all. You can also be trickier than them, causing them to move aside their defenses in order for you to secure an opening to attack. Glaivests have one additional method for achieving victory- running away, as quickly as possible. It is advised to learn how to run backwards faster than your opponents can run forwards, at least if you want to stay alive for a long time.

Jesting aside, pole-arm allows the fighter to blend the best of greatsword with spear to create a truly deadly weapons form. By learning the starting positions below you will have a solid base to draw upon, and be able to move onto more advanced techniques in the future.

For warriors picking up a glaive for the first time: Those experienced with shield can choose to treat their offense (sword) and defense (shield) as independent components of their strategy. With a glaive, they are one in the same.  You can't throw a good glaive shot, without knowing how it's going to flow right into a block against a likely counter attack.  To this end, it's easiest for new glaivests to focus on attacks that conclude with the glaive in front, and fairly vertical (45+ degree to the ground).  A strike that concludes with the glaive being horizontal, or somehow to the side, offers far less defense against a counter strike. In practice, for the new glaivest, this means that from vertical stance, shots thrown downward against head, shoulder, or arms are good defensive minded attacks, while shots thrown at the leg or body are risky.

Also- do not be afraid to try and power through your adversary's marginal blocks, often by flicking up your lower hand at the last minute, a glaive can push marginal blocks out of the way and still hit convincingly. There is a fine line between this and power hitting though, which I do not advocate.

Note that I will use "Pole-Arm" and "Glaive" synonymously throughout the article. They both describe the East Kingdom 6 to 7 1/2 foot fighting weapons where one end is a striking surface (maximum 1/3 weapon length but no less than 18 inches), both ends of the weapon have thrusting tips, and the rest of the weapon is considered "haft"- unable to cause a fatal blow.

Starting Positions

I Vertical Stance
The Vertical stance is perhaps the first form that most glaivests learn. The pole is held vertically, hence the name Vertical Stance, in front of the fighter by one foot to eighteen inches. The striking end is held above the wielder's head and is the main means to attack your opponent. The butt spike is placed about one inch above the knee ease leg blocks.

Your dominant foot (right foot if you are right handed, left foot if you are left handed) is slightly ahead while your non-dominant foot is to the side, and slightly angled away from your body. Your front foot will cause you to advance or retreat from your opponent- while the foot at your side will propel you sideways.

Because the striking end is held upright it can be used to come down in an axe like swing towards your opponent. Or if you want to come in more horizontally have the hand at the bottom of the pole-arm move out from the side of your body. Thrusts can be accomplished by starting an axe swing, moving your bottom hand up and behind you, and then forward with both your hands.

If your opponent is too far away to reach by an axe swing move the glaive up, moving your the end of the pole-arm toward your bottom hand. Remember though to choke up when your opponent approaches, otherwise the striking part of your weapon will be beyond your opponent.

If you happen to let your opponent swing at you block the blow by moving your pole-arm to the side keeping the weapon vertical. . Do this by rotating your hips as opposed to moving your arms for increased efficiency and power.  If done correctly your opponents weapon will be on the outside of your glaive and unable to directly contact you again. You can now counterstrike at your opponent with an axe swing. For added protection keep the pivot point of your swing against your adversary's stick, in this manner even if you miss, or your shot is blocked, you are still well protected.

Strengths- Having the but spike at the edge of the legal striking area about the legs will allow you to concentrate more on attacking your enemy than blocking. Leg shots, as others, can be blocked by twisting your body or by running backwards.

Weaknesses- Calibrating the reach of your glaive towards your opponent is slow, and if they should move too quickly for you too follow come inside your attacking range. Also, this stance makes thrusting more time-consuming.

II Thrusting Stance
Another common pole-arm approach is to keep your thrusting tip pointed at the enemy using the full length of your glaive to keep your opponent away. From here you poke at the open spots of your adversary's defenses. Stay within sniping range at all times and whenever your foe takes a step forward, be sure to take one, if not two, steps back.

Here your feet take on the position of a modern fencer. There is a 90 degree angle between your front and back feet, and you place them more than shoulder width apart. Keeping your knees bent will serve to maximize the amount of room you have for thrusting. The trunk of your body is twisted to expose your side to the enemy. Against another who can thrust against you, this will expose the least surface area for them to make contact with.

The tip of your weapon is kept parallel to the ground, and out far in front of you to keep your enemies at a great distance. Sometimes it is advantageous to even point your glaive at the ground- it may fall below the visual range of your opponent.

Move the glaive pool queue fashion to throw a thrust. Your backhand will supply the power as it moves toward your other hand, guiding the shot. Hover around the extreme fringe of your striking range, so that with a slight lean back, you appear out of range.  Look for your opponent to relax (thinking you're out of range), and then with a slight lean or shuffle in, you can strike.

If you move the tip close to you, by putting one arm far behind, it will discourage those with greatsword and two weapon from charging; however you are at risk to yield weapon length superiority to them.

Block shots with snaps up or down to beat the weapon out of position, and then move inside to thrust an exposed area.

Strengths- Aside from spears, pole arms are the longest armaments in the SCAdian's arsenal. Keeping your enemy far away assures your well-being. With the advent of the 7 1/2 foot pole arms an experienced glaivest can snipe twice at their opponent (if using weapon and shield) from a safe distance.

Weaknesses- I believe this is the weakest form against shield because this antagonist will typically wait for your thrust, block it, and then charge to close the gap; unless you move back fast enough the foe can (and probably will) club you like a harp seal. It is sometimes better to fake the thrust and then change into another position that will allow you more versatility; or strike them hard, in the center of their shield, as to knock them back into your optimum striking range. If your does opponent get in close, it�s advisable to choke up and go into the vertical stance.

III Angled Stance
If you were to take your legs in a bit from the Thrusting guard, rise your body, and move your glaive tip from parallel to 45 degrees with the ground you will shift into the Angled Stance. This form seeks to blend the strengths of the Vertical and Thrusting stances. While you do loose a little of the glaive length due to positioning you gain axe swings.  Additionally because the low hand is near the butt-spike it allows you to bring it into the fray more often than with other styles.

Be careful not to become too rigid in this style, but rather allow the blows to flow freely and cause you to move about your adversary. Remember that you will not have as much reach as somebody in the Thrusting stance, nor the sweeping blows of the Vertical stance.

Strengths- I think that this position allows the greatest variety of strikes against your opponent, and since you start the shot closer to your opponent snaps will land faster.

Weaknesses- This position offers minimal protection to the legs or hip, relying mostly on body movement to avoid shots as opposed to a solid block with the glaive itself. Additionally because the tip of the pole-arm is so high you will be tempted to face thrust- please check with your knight marshal if this is allowed in combat for your Kingdom.

Variant on Angled Stance- the Morgunn Guard. I have named this style after His Grace, Duke Sir Morgunn Sheridan, who taught me this style from the wrong end of the stick. I believe that his approach is truly unique and deserves discussion.

Rather than keep the low hand floating, His Grace prefers to keep it anchored at the hip with the thrusting tip pointed at your opponent's nose. This allows for a quick face thrust- or a powerful and fast axe swing downward. Head shots are avoided by tilting your head; or blocked by raising your back hand to your head, keeping the glaive point aimed on your adversary.

IV Dragon Tail Stance
This style is a little counterintuitive; but can add an interesting element of variety to your shot portfolio. Here the striking edge is placed behind you, and the butt spike of your glaive is aimed at your opponent. Many is the time when a greatswordist would knock my butt spike down, only to be stunned when the striking surface rose from behind, pivoted about, and struck them on the head.

Your body mechanics can mimic that in the Thrusting stance if you place your butt spike in the mid body area, or you can position yourself more squarely against your opponent as in the Vertical stance if you would prefer to raise the glaive to shoulder level.

Strengths- Not many fighters expect to deal only with the butt-spike and will forget about the striking surface. Also hiding the striking surface from your opponent will allow you to throw a wider assortment of fakes.

Weaknesses- This position calls for more movement than 90 degrees. Please check with your knight marshal if this is allowed in single (or melee) combat for your Kingdom.

V Overhead Guard
I saw this guard developed within my household to fend off the attacks of spears and glaives with superior thrusting ability. Your upper hand is placed in front, and held about chin level, and your other hand is set behind your head and raised above. This has the glaive come down at an angle from above your head. Attacks are parried by having your forward arm wipe them out of the way, and then countered by stepping in for a thrust or strike of your own.

This stance can perhaps have greater use in melee over single combat. You can change the angle of the polearm slightly to cover the heads of shield wall members in front, providing them with a greater defense.

Strengths- This is a great position to parry with, and then flow into a thrust or strike of your own.

Weaknesses- The position is a bit awkward and keeping your arms in the air for a long amount of time will tire them out quicker than the other more natural stances.

VI Power Stance
If you want to strike fear into the hearts of your opponent, raise your glaive high, bringing the butt-spike of your glaive on top of your shoulder.  If you have an open face helm, feel free to add a grin too.

Gravity is on your side with this position; you can bring your shots down hard and, if you extend your arms, far. You can control the direction of your on and offside shots with your upper hand, while using your lower one to pull the glaive down.

One trick to keep in mind with this guard is that your challenger's attention will be drawn to the high striking edge. Use this against them as best you can- one way is when you notice their eyes flick to the top of your glaive (feel free to waive it around a little bit to get even more attention) pop them with a quick thrust from your butt-spike. The best way to accomplish this is by letting go of your pole with your bottom hand and using your higher hand to guide the thrust.

Strengths- This position can deal a tremendous amount of power over a long distance, and if it does not land a killing blow, your opponent will at least be knocked off balance allowing you a second attack. (please don't interpret this as my advocating of high calibrations)

Weaknesses- Very little leg or torso protection and all of your focus is on attacking so you must strike first.

Concluding Comments
A word on Offense
Alternate your thrusts with chops and cuts as shot variation is key. If you start with a thrust, rather than recoil after a block or miss, use the extended pole arm, and some SERIOUS hip action, to throw a chop shot.  Recoil on the chop, and you're back in position for either chop or thrust.

Throw often to the face when fighting against a shield, blocking a face thrust with a shield requires a much greater movement of the shield (the old overhead guard defense isn't enough) and often cause the shield to obscure the blocker's vision (so a faked face thrust can set up a great leg shot).

A word on Defense
Defense starts with the feet.  It's easier to step away from a shot, than block it.  Not being there when the shot lands is the best way to avoid death. Hip rotation is key to everything in pole-arm.  It speeds a block, and adds power to a blow.  A VERY short axe shot with hip rotation can be incredibly powerful.

For Further Study
This article was composed using my own experience and reviews from Sir Orlando Alveraz, Sir Sirhan al Cyani ibn Atai Akarel Diablu, the honorable Lord Earling the Boar-Ring, and the honorable Lord Wulfstan the Unshod. I encourage all to seek out and fight these individuals.

There are a few period references one can review to learn what the medieval master's had to offer on the subject of pole-arm combat:

Sidney Anglo's translation of Le Jeu de la Hache (a 15th-century axe fighting treatise)

Giacomo DiGrassi,  The True Art of Defence published in 1570

Hans Talhoffer,  Fechtbuch aus dem Jahre published in 1467

Joseph Swetnam, Schoole of the Noble and Worthy Science of Defence published in 1617 (this document provides instruction for the Staff, which can be easily used for the pole-arm).

-By Abel Brem of Regnesfolke
Abel Sussman

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